COTABATO CITY – Strong winds amid a heavy downpour in North Cotabato on Thursday afternoon destroyed a public high school made of light materials in Arakan town, a disaster official said.
Rowena Gafati, head of Arakan’s municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO), said the strong winds came while the upland village of Mantangkil was experiencing a heavy downpour.
“The rain started at past 5 p.m. accompanied by a strong wind that destroyed one of the classrooms of Mantingkal High School,” Gafati said in her report to Arakan Mayor Rene Rubino.
Rubino said he immediately directed the MDRRMO to attend to the needs of the affected high school students and find ways to rebuild the damaged classroom.
Village officials were the first responders and hauled the pupils to safe areas, he said.
A number of students were still in the classroom waiting for the rain to slow down when the calamity struck. No student was reported hurt in the incident. (PNA)
